Etymograph

English

flick

Flick comes from Middle English flykke ‘light blow or stroke’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flykke‘light blow or stroke’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1860flick

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flykke‘light blow or stroke’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1860flick

Earliest quotation: 1860, William Makepeace Thackeray: “the Queen, flicking the snuff off her sleeve[…]”

The story

Later uses apparently interpreted as a back-formation from flicker. The use of flick to mean a film or movie derives from the fact that early films had a low frame rate, thus causing the film to "flick" rapidly when projected onto a screen.

Every English word from Middle English flykke

Today it means

noun A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Middle English flykke / flick

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